Love is Zero (Eiji Kikumaru ff)
by mayodichan
Summary: Nobody knows why are Asakura Maki and Kikumaru Eiji friends, but their strong and weird bond is something everyone admires. As they start middle school, things change a little bit but that is only the beginning...
1. Prologue

Maki hated family trips to the beach over the summer, ever since she could remember. It was never a pleasant experience for her as she was surrounded by loud noises, would always burn her face and constantly trip on sand . So instead of enjoying the warm water or playing in the sand, she would enjoy the comfort of the good book or a puzzle she brought for that dreadful day.

It was that time of the year again as the Asakura family headed towards the beach. Of course, other members of the family loved that day and were planning it weeks ahead. This time Maki didn't even put on her swimsuit as she took her spot under the sunshade and pulled out her book while her parents and older brother headed towards sea for a swim.

With food and cold drinks nearby, this day was off to a good start. Something Maki didn't expect to happen at all. Suddenly, a loud panting was coming closer, causing her to look away from her book only to see her older brother Yuu standing in front of her. He was dripping wet, making wet trail of footsteps behind him.

"Maaaaki." he called out to her as he grabbed a towel from the bag and dried of his light-blonde hair that was pulled back, "You should really change into swimsuit and join us. The water is great."

"No thank you… I would rather stay here." she replied, moving her book to the side so it wouldn't get wet as Yuu placed himself next to her

"I know that you don't like the day on the beach… but you are only 9 years old. You should enjoy your childhood while you still have it." Yuu scolded her a bit

"But I do enjoy it." Maki countered with a slight chuckle, "Not like others but I still enjoy it."

"I don't doubt that." a female voice rang out, alerting the two kids to look in front of them as their parents approached them, "But you still need to act as a child a bit." their mother Yuzuki scolded the younger child as she stood in the sun, waiting to dry off. Her curly and wet long black hair was sticking to her face and over her shoulders.

"Maki, you don't have friends,your nose is always stuck in a book or those damn puzzles and you are rude to most people." the father Mitsuo added, standing next to his wife pulling back his wet short blonde hair.

He was not a thin man as he used to be a great baseball player in the past, his muscle still very visible. His blonde hair was great with his slightly darker tan .

When everyone dried off, Yuzuki put on a sunscreen on her husband and her son and they all rushed to the sea, leaving Maki alone again and allowing her to enjoy her book.

After few hours of her parents and brother going back and forth between sea and the beach, everyone was starving and grabbed their food immediately. Sitting on the sand and enjoying nice family time which even Maki enjoyed. But it didn't last for long as suddenly, a large volleyball hit Maki on the back of her head, causing her to spill water on the towel and her brother. Everyone started laughing expect for Maki, who rubbed the back of her head annoyed.

"Are you alright?" Yuzuki asked after the laughter stopped

"Yeah…" Maki began but was interrupted by a distant yelling

"I'm sooooorry!" a sweet boyish voice grew louder behind the family as the boy about the same age as Maki with vivid red hair was running towards them but tripped over the sand, hitting his face.

Maki stood up before her mother could, grabbed the ball and approached the place where the boy was lying in the sand.

"Are you alright?" she asked him as she crouched down

The boy mumbled something before he brought himself up to a kneeling position, shook his head to get rid of the sand in his hair and then smiled, "I'm alright. This happens all the time nya." he replied as Maki looked at him a bit confused

"Nya?" she whispered as she took a closer look at the boy, noticing that he looked like a cat in a human form and bursted into laughter

"What? What's so funny?" he asked a bit confused by her sudden outburst as they brought up themselves to stand

"Nothing. I'm sorry." Maki stopped laughing and gave the ball back, the boy looked and acted like a cat which amused Maki

"Are you alright?" he asked, his dark-blue eyes looking directly at her, "I saw that the ball hit you nya."

"Oh, I'm fine… I should be fine. But I spilled the water I was drinking all over my brother." she confessed scratching the back of her head

"I'm sorry nya." the boy smiled, "I'm Kikumaru Eiji by the way." the boy introduced himself, causing Maki to laugh slightly again as she found him really funny

"Asakura Maki." Maki introdued herself too, "Well I have to go you around." she waved him goodbye and strolled towards her parents

"Have fun!" Eiji waved back, returning to his own family

As soon as she sat down on her spot, her parents and brother looked at her with a slight surprise visible on their faces.

"Who was that?" Yuzuki questioned her daughter

"I hope you didn't scare him." Yuu added as Maki shot him a deadly glare and opened her book again, "You cheeky little thing." he teased as he pulled her for her cheeks causing the siblings to start arguing and parents sighed at their children's behavior.

Finally, the day on the beach was coming to an end, much to Maki's delight. Only thing left was to have dinner at a nearby family restaurant which they always visited. After everyone dried off completely and changed out of their swimsuits, the family headed towards the restaurant. Maki actually enjoyed this place as it had really tasty food and relaxing atmosphere. They were looking around for an empty table which seemed impossible to get, as if the whole Japan came down to have dinner there.

"We should have made reservations." Yuzuki scolded her husband

"It was never this packed." Mitsuo countered as they all had to accept the fact that they wouldn't eat there.

"Maaaaki-chaaan!" a very familiar voice called out from one of the tables as the whole family turned around to see the boy from earlier waving enthusiastically at them from the table where he sat with his family

"Kikumaru-kun?" Maki was surprised to see him again while he rushed towards her

"Hoi hoi!" he rejoiced and then looked at them, "Are you going to eat here too nya?"

"We wanted to but there are no empty tables." Maki explained as Eiji had a small disappointed frown on his face

"Eiji, I told you not to run off like that." a voice coming from behind him, scolded the boy

It was a woman about the same age as Maki's mother with the same vivid red hair as Eiji just longer. Wearing a light-blue dress that highlighted the rare hair colour mother and son shared

"Sorry mom." Eiji apologized, "I just saw the girl that returned my volleyball earlier today."

"Oh, thank you!" the woman smiled at Maki and then looked at her parents, "Are you also eating here?"

"Looks like we can't." Mitsuo confessed with a slight sigh

"We don't have a table." Yuzuki pointed out

"Then you are welcome to join us." Eiji's mother suggested as everyone smiled immediately, pointing them to their table which Yuzuki, Mitsuo and Yuu followed.

"Come one, Maki-chan." Eiji exclaimed as he grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the dinner table.

Asakura family never imagined that Kikumaru family was so large. Besides Eiji's mother Hikari and her husband Keiichi, their grandparents were there with Eiji's two older brothers Ryuu and Takeshi and two older sisters Noriko and Tomoko. With four of them joining the table, it was a mystery how all of them could fit there.

Mitsuo immediately befriended Keiichi as the two fathers had a lot in common, same going for the mothers. Yuu was a bit quiet as there was no one to talk to. Ryuu and Takeshi were conversing between each other as Noriko and Tomoko ate quietly, whispering to each other a bit here and there. Maki was entertained by Eiji, who was talking about some anime he watched the other day.

Yuu was starring a bit longer at Tomoko than normal. She looked familiar to him and he couldn't exactly put his finger on it.

"W-What is it?" Tomoko asked him suddenly as she noticed he was starring at her

"Oh, sorry… I just…" Yuu was about to apologize when it suddenly hit him, causing his fork to fall on the plate, making a loud sound and alerting everyone to look at him, "Kikumaru Tomoko? From class 1-D?"

Tomoko was taken aback by the sudden questions that she just nodded, not sure what to say.

"H-How did you know?" she managed to blurt out

"I'm from class 1-B." Yuu confessed, "Remember, we were both on the cleaning duty the same day and I helped you to move the tables and chairs since I finished earlier."

"Ahhhhh!" Tomoko yelled from a surprise and then laughed, "That day, my classmate ditched the cleaning duty because of her club activities so everything took twice as longer to clean."

"Yes." Yuu chuckled as everyone smiled, continuing the conversation

"So, you guys are from Tokyo?" Keiichi asked Mitsuo who nodded as his mouth was too full to answer

"Yes, we live near the Seishun Academy." Yuzuki added as everyone looked back and forth between each other

"My, my, what a small world." Hikari chuckled and then looked at Maki, "And what elementary school do you go to?"

"Hikarigaoka…" Maki replied

"Ehhhh?!" Eiji yelled, startling Maki and his siblings, "We go to the same school nya?"

"Uh, yes…" she let out a quiet answer, "Class 3-4"

"I'm in class 3-6." Eiji rejoiced

"Isn't that great, Maki? You have someone to go to school with." Yuzuki exclaimed as Maki just nodded and everyone continued to enjoy their food.

Maki never expected to make a friend that day, specially not someone she would go to school with but life was full of surprises. Eiji seemed really happy about going to school together that he promised to show her his favorite pet shop on the way back.

Sadly, it was time to head on the road as it was getting pretty late. The two families parted, with promises to see each other yet again very soon. Maki and Yuu made themselves comfortable at the back seats of the car as Mitsuo started the engine and drove off. Everyone was tired as the sun was strong and even Maki had fun even if she doesn't want to admit it.

"This was a great day." Yuzuki rejoiced from the passenger's seat

"Yes it was." Mitsuo nodded in agreement keeping his eyes fixed on road

"I never expected to meet my schoolmate here." Yuu added with a slight chuckle

"True. They are really a great family. And Maki made a new friend. Isn't that great?" Yuzuki turned around her head to face her children only to see that Maki already fell asleep with her head against the window.

Yuu and Yuzuki chuckled as she covered her daughter with a towel. Maki shuffled a little to make herself even more comfortable as the long road was ahead of them. If anything else, it was a really interesting day.


	2. Chapter 1

"Maki! Wake up!" Yuzuki yelled from downstairs as Mitsuo and Yuu were already having breakfast, "I swear that child." she grumbled

"Maybe she is nervous about her first day of school?" Mitsuo suggested, trying to calm down the raging woman

"Nervous?" she yelped, "That child is never nervous about anything. If she was in a deadly situation, she would find it fun."

"Alright. Calm down… Yuu, go and wake up your sister." Mitsuo ordered his son who just finished his breakfast

"But I'm going to be late." he pointed out as Yuzuki left an exsaperated sigh and Mitsuo just shook his head beforeYuu headed towards the stairs, no use of arguing with his parents when a doorbell went off, "I'll get it." Yuu yelled as he was closest to the door

The boy with vivid red hair was standing at the front porch as Yuu opened the door. As per usual, the boy had a big smile on his face and a band-aid across his nose. He was wearing his middle school uniform that looked completely new.

Maki and Eiji were about to start middle school at Seishun Academy. Over the last three years, they became really good friends. Actually, Asakura family and Kikumaru family became really close friends, resulting in their children hanging out together a lot.

"Eiji-kun?" Yuzuki showed up behind Yuu to greet the boy, "Good morning."

"Good morning, nya." Eiji greeted them back

"I'm afraid Maki is still asleep." Yuzuki explained, "But come on in, maybe you can wake her up."

"That's great. I have to hurry to school." Yuu exclaimed, putting on his shoes and grabbed his school bag, "Have fun on your first day." he waved to Eiji and then to his parents before running down the street

Yuzuki allowed Eiji to come in before she closed the front door, "That daughter of mine." she sighed, "Maybe you will have more luck waking her up."

"I'm already up!" Maki yelled from atop of the stairs, her white hair was messily gathered in a small ponytail that fell a bit on her new middle school uniform.

"Hoi hoi!' Eiji greeted her with a smile

"Hoi." Maki replied flatly before a yawn as she came downstairs, "You are too loud so early in the morning."

"I'm not nya!" Eiji countered, faking a pout that returned to a smile, "Let's go."

"Yes."

"Wait Maki, what about breakfast?" Yuzuki stopped them

"I already had one." Eiji replied immediately

"I'll have some at school." Maki added, "Besides, you have a meeting with you editor soon." and she and Eiji headed outside leaving her parents dumbfounded

"H-How the hell does she know that?" Yuzuki asked her husband who just shruged

Yuzuki was a writer. A well known writer of school books for English classes but even if she was respected, she would always do her work in the last minute which made her really nervous much to the amusement of her kids and husband.

"How did you know that you mother has a meeting with the editor nya?" Eiji questioned Maki, after making sure that they are far away from the house

Maki smirked and then sighed before explaining, "She was grumpy the whole morning, that only means she is not reaching her deadlines and the bags under her eyes tell me that she pulled an all-nighter."

Over the years, Maki began to take notice of small details in person's appearances or behaviour, allowing her to guess their thoughts or what they were doing. Most of it was guess work but it was on spot a lot of times.

"You really know everything, don't you?" Eiji remarked

"Not everything…" Maki stated, "But I do know that you had fried prawns for breakfast."

Eiji's eyes widened, "Ehhh? How?"

"You have a stain on the shirt." Maki stated pointing at it under his chin

Eiji tried his best to look at it but couldn't see it, "It's a new shirt." he yelled before he pulled the shirt to the side to look only to realized that there was no stain on it, "You tricked me!"

Maki couldn't hold in the laughter anymore and burst out as Eiji was ready to chase her to the end of the world, his face a slightly lighter red than his hair.

"Oh no." Maki yelped as she made a run for it

"Wait! You tricked me!" Eiji yelled, only few feets away from her

The two chased each other until they arrived at the school gate, where teacher scolded them so they slowly walked in to look for the board and find out in which class they were sorted. Eiji wanted to be in the same class as Maki since throughout the whole elementary school they were in differented classes. Maki wanted that too but because it's easier when there is someone you know around you.

"There is the board… over there!" Eiji shouted, pointing towards a crowd of first years before he grabbed Maki's hand and pulled her there, passing through a crowd, "Kikumaru, Kikumaru…" he searched for his name, "Ah! Here, class 1-6." he showed his name and then turned to Maki, "Which class are you?"

Maki didn't answer as she pointed to her name a little above his and Eiji smilled again. 

"We are in the same classroom nya!" he rejoiced and hugged her all of a sudden before heading inside.

After changing their shoes, Maki and Eiji decided to go and search for their classroom.

"So, how did you really know that I had fried prawns for breakfast nya?" Eiji asked her all of a sudden

"Because it's your favorite food, silly." Maki explained as a matter of fact, "It's your first day in middle school, of course your mother is going to prepare you favorite fried prawns."

"It's not fun when you know everything nya." Eiji pouted a bit as Maki stuck out her tounge at him before entering the classroom and he soon followed.

Maki decided to sit at the back, right next to the windows as Eiji sat at the seat on her right. While Eiji was excitedly looking left and right, barely keeping still on the chair, nervous about the first day, Maki didn't really care. It was another school year just in a different building.

"Excuse me. Is this seat taken?" suddenly a voice asked, allerting Eiji and Maki to look at the boy with light-brown chin-length hair, his eyes closed as he smilled lightly, giving off this aura of calmness. He was very slim and his skin pale.

"Yes! You can sit there nya." Eiji replied first as Maki confirmed with a nod and the boy pulled out the chair to sit

"Thank you." the boy added, "My name is Fuji Shusuke."

"Kikumaru Eiji!" Eiji introduced himself entusiacticaly and then pointed at Maki, "And this is Asakura Maki."

"Nice to meet you."

Maki felt a bit uncomfortable as she couldn't read Fuji and guess what he is thinking but as he seemed nice, she quickly discarted any thoughts and continued with her day.

As much as Eiji enjoyed the first day of middle school, that's how much Maki wanted to go home and continue reading her book but the day seemed like it would never end. After their first homeroom class, where they met their homeroom teacher, everyone headed towards the gymnasium for principal's speech. Standing in line and listening to the boring speech made even Eiji uneasy.

"Calm down, Eiji." Maki warned Eiji as she grabbed his shoulder, telling him to stay still

"I can't nya!" Eiji whispered, "This is so boring."

The ceremony seemed like it would last forever and when it was finally over, everyone stormed out of the exit.

"Ahhh finally nya!" Eiji yelled a bit, streching his arms as Maki and he were walking towards the gate.

"I think even some of the teachers snoozed off in the back…" Maki added when suddenly, a small chuckle made them turn around, only to see Fuji standing there, with his usual smilling face.

"Oh, Fuji-kun." Eiji exclaimed with a smile, "Want to join us in the park?"

"We are going to the park?" Maki asked, shocked by the sudden statement as Eiji nodded innocently

"No but thank you." Fuji chuckled again, "I'm going to go and join the tennis team. See you tomorrow." he waved to them and left

"Tennis team nya?" Eiji asked, as he and Maki looked at each other, "Let's go and see." he quickly grabbed Maki for hand and pulled her in the same direction Fuji went

"Wait… Eiji." Maki yelled but her best friend didn't pay attention as they arrived to the tennis fields, where older students were casually playing matches. They didn't got any closer as the practice already started, ending up staying and watching almost the whole training.

"Amazing." Eiji exclaimed not taking his eyes off of them for a second

Even if they did ended up watching the whole training, Eiji still insisted to visit the park before going home. As he was playing on the monkey bar, Maki was sitting at the end of the slide, looking completely bored.

"Have you seen them nya?" Eiji asked for the hundrenth time already, as he was hanging from one of the bars.

"Then why don't you join the tennis team?" Maki suggested, "Seigaku has one of the strongest teams in the city."

"But I never played tennis before." Eiji replied

"So? You have great athletic abillity." she countered, leaning back on the slide, "Give it a shot at least."

"Hoi hoi!" Eiji exclaimed as he jumped down and turned towards Maki, who looked up to look at him, "I will join the tennis team and be the best player in the team!"

She suddenly started laughing but stopped and pushed herself up, "Alright then. Let's go… I have a book to finish at home."

"You and your books." Eiji stuck out his tongue at her as a small smirk formed at the end of her lips.


End file.
